advent garden

What a gorgeous festival! It was early in the season and so magical. The angel came out and lit the center candle while we sang christmas carols. Then each of the children took an apple with a beeswax candle to light and place on the spiral. I'm so thankful for the wonderful people in my community!

o christmas tree

merry christmas and happy new year!
there's a great blog about the 12 holy nights that I've been working with and enjoying.

recycled christmas card project - part 2

Putting the pieces together for the recycled card, using some sparkly paper I found in stash in my studio... Originally I had planned to use watercolors that Fyn and I were going to paint, but that didn't happen this year. Maybe next year...

christmas comes at the same time every year...

And this year, I'm determined to be somewhat prepared. It really should not be a surprise a week before the big day. Seriously. Last year I made some stockings, but they were not like this. These are a sweet patchwork personalized with the names of your family members and pets (if you are so inclined). What should I get for our new puppy and two kitties? You can get your own from handmade pretties

You'll find all kinds of other recycled goods there too, skirts, ponchos, balls, etc...

Snazztastic! How could I resist a name like that? These snazztastic pants used to be a sweater. I love the striped waistband which looks like it's made from a ribbed cotton sweater. Brilliant idea!

This is for that tiny part of me that wishes to be pregnant again (incidently, the rest of me is not so sure that another baby is going to help me get more creative time!) It's a skirt, no wait, it's a poncho. Multi-purpose clothing is genius. And it would go with everything because it's patchwork! From what I gather, custom options for sizing and colors are also available. It would be great in jersey (t-shirt fabric) too!

Very pretty, indeed.

cozy pants

My sister found the best pants for my niece a few years ago. They were cotton outside and flannel inside. It's taken a few years, but I finally made a pair. And they turned out so well, that I made another pair for my nephew.

a recycled cotton and wool headband for a superhero bride...

and an upcycled pelican shirt for her little brother..

christmas decorations - handprint wreath and sentimental ornaments

My sister put this together and I love it's sentimental simplicity. It looks like the handprint is laminated, maybe using clear contact paper? My niece made it at preschool a few years ago. The wreath is not too big, but it looks larger in this photo.


When I was cleaning up one day, I found some old dog tags and decided to include them in our holiday decorations. All I did was add ribbon. It worked great for old keys too.


The zig zag garland is from my grandma. It's made of gum wrappers folded together and spray painted. I wish I knew how it was made so I could make more.


This is one of my favorite ornaments. It's made from scrap vinyl, sewn together with watercolor paper at the top. Eyelets hold it together and make great openings for the wire. Inside is a picture of T and me at the beach along with a few rocks from that day.

christmas decorating - recycled wool stockings

creative christmas adventures, chapter 2


The gifts were starting to pile up, and there were no stockings yet! So, the week before Christmas, I had one nap time left for crafting. I dashed into my studio and pulled out the pattern which I had seen at a friend's house when she was making her fabulous recycled wool stockings - she was kind enough to share.

It was hard to decide what to put in Fyn's stocking, but it seemed to come together at the last minute as Tommy (aka Santa) showed up a bit earlier than usual with some great recycled and handmade toys, procured locally, of course. The felted fruits, veggies and eggs were inspired by my friends, and a day of needlefelting earlier in the month. The fabric gifts bags were a big hit. I loved them because they are made of gorgeous recycled fabrics, and no tissue paper is needed. T loved how it was fast to wrap with them. Instead of gift tags, I wrote names on a second piece of grosgrain ribbon, that part was easy too. Our families loved them, and kept them for future reuse. I'm making more for next year!


While I thought the brown tree stocking was going to be mine, T loved it so much he wanted it. It reminds him of his favorite tree at the river. So, I'm the star here!

in celebration of three kings day

Tradition is to make a French lemony cake on Three Kings Day. I carefully slipped three almonds into the cake before baking. It came out like a cross between a biscotti and a cake, but tasted good. Everyone at our study group appreciated it. We looked at Steiner's seven seas, drawing our own, mine a metamorphosis of Jupiter and Venus. We listened to fairy tales about the seven ravens as well as the fox and the goats. It was a cloudy, slightly snowy day followed by an icy night. The wind whipped Lake Michigan into a froth and the waves crashed on the shore.

Wednesday is the actual day, but our schedules allowed us to celebrate early this year!
What are your traditions?

favorite christmas memories

svelte handbags for christmas

christmas baking - gingerbread cookies!

The twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and extend until Three Kings Day, or Epiphany. It seemed the perfect way for me to complete all my holiday plans, with family here to help. We baked gingerbread cookies, rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes.


Here are a few of the men that survived with heads. Fyn liked eating the heads off as soon as they hit the cookie sheet... The recipe is from a friend, who found it in Martha Stewart. I tried to find a link for you but there are thousands there! So I wrote it out below...

While we were making the frosting for the three kings cake today, I spread a little on a cookie, which made it feel like dancing!

Crisp Gingerbread Cookies
6c sifted all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1c (2 sticks) unsalted butter (I used Willow Run soy margarine to be dairy-free)
1c dark brown sugar, packed
4t ground ginger
4t ground cinnamon
1 1/2t ground cloves
1 1/2t salt
1t finely ground pepper - yes, that's right, black pepper! it's the gingery "snap" you'll taste.
2 large eggs
1 c unsulfured molasses

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices, salt and pepper, then eggs and molasses. Add in flour mixture on low speed. Divide into thirds; wrap in wax paper or plastic. Chill at least one hour.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8" thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to baking sheets (silpat mats were recommended, but my cookie sheets were ungreased and it worked out fine). Refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes (skipped this step...) Bake 8-10 minutes or until crisp but not darkened. Cool on wire racks and decorate.

If you want an easy solution to decorating, you can sprinkle sugar on before baking. Mine were unfrosted and that seemed to be good for a little guy. Martha recommends royal icing, but I don't have time or energy for that!

merry christmas!

o christmas tree

It's so gorgeous, I felt a little sad to cut it down after it's been alive and growing for five years or so... But, now that it's in our living room, it is so magical. So I thank you, dear earth, for this lovely gift. And I thank my kind friends for a beautiful day! We had fun visiting the tree farm with fyn's buddy, Zebedee and his family.